Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday alleged that the government is spreading false and cooked up stories about their chairperson’s London tour only to mislead people and divert their attention from the country’s political crisis.
Speaking at a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan central office, he also asked the media to refrain from making news with false and fabricated information.
“It’s known to all that our chairperson Khaleda Zia has gone to London for her medical treatment and meeting her family members. She’ll return home once her treatment is completed. Unfortunately, the ruling party leaders and ministers have started carrying out a false campaign over the tour from the very beginning,” the BNP leader said.
Soon after Khaleda had been to the UK, he said the ruling party leaders started saying she fled the country in fear of facing cases filed against her. “Such comments from the highest level of the government on a sub-judice matter put obstacle to get justice. Because, in our culture, the administrative officials consider the head of the government’s every word as an order for them and they act as per it.”
Fakhrul said the Awami League leaders are now talking about a ‘so-called meeting with Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Jamaat leaders in London as part of a plot.
He alleged that an online news portal and some newspapers published a false and imaginary story of conspiracy making an artificial picture of such a meeting. “We’ve sent a rejoinder protesting the news and it was published in those newspapers.”
The BNP leader further said, “The government is trying to divert people’s attention from the upcoming election, supportive government and restoration of democracy by creating a smoke screen with such fabricated news. We would like to tell the Awami League leaders and journalists not to try to misled people about the country’s political crisis.”
Fakhrul said the ruling party leaders as per their old habit can carry out false campaign against the BNP chief. “But it’s highly regrettable when any newspaper or media outlet publish such a fabricated story. We think such practice will only help the enemies of democracy.”
He said BNP needs not to resort to any conspiracy or seek any country’s help to return to power. “BNP came to power with people’s votes in the past and it wants to go to power in the future with only their support.”
The BNP secretary general also said it is Awami League which came to power in 1996 and 2008 through conspiracy.
He called upon the government to take step for resolving the crisis over the election-time government and thus pave a way for holding a fair and inclusive election.
About the ruling party leaders’ comment that there is no provision of election-time supportive government in the constitution, Fakhrul said the charter can be amended as per people’s desire as it is not a bible.
Asked whether their party is going to join the Election Commission’s dialogue, he said though their party has reservation about the Commission and the CEC, they are assisting it and sending their representatives to it as they want the democratic institutions to work properly to restore democracy and hold a fair and acceptable election.
Replying to another question, he said their chairperson will undergo an eye operation very soon in the UK, and then she will receive treatment for her knee problem.